Grinding mills have been used for centuries to break solid materials into smaller pieces. Among other uses, grinding mills are commonly used to grind dry grains and spices, such as wheat, corn, oats, rice, peppercorn, and barley. Grinding mills intended for grains are commonly called grain mills. Ground grains and spices may have varied grain sizes based on the configurations of the grinding mill. For example, wheat and other grains may be coarsely ground and eaten as a cereal or finely ground into flour and used for baking. Because many grains have a long storage life they are common food storage items. However, the storage life of grains is increased greatly in kept in whole-grain form prior to milling, making storing unmilled grains a useful part of a long-term food storage plan.
Because many grains are best stored unmilled, along with a store of grain, many households have a grain mill that they may use to grind stored grain. However, currently people with household grain mills must choose between electric and manual grain mills, or have both. In the event of an emergency that might require a grain mill, there may not be electricity making electric grain mills useless in such circumstances. On the other hand, a manually-operated grain mill is time consuming and hard work. Thus, it may be costly or difficult to choose which type of grain mill to choose or whether to purchase and store both.